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Tis the Season

Perhaps the Playoffs are my favourite time of the year...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Well it kind of is. Now I don't create the kind of home where it looks like Christmas vomited all over the house. I'm very moderate. Some outdoor lights, a tree, a lighted wreath somebody gave me, some candles..that's it. I know people with 20 to 30 bins of Christmas decorations. I have two.

But I do love Christmas. An occasion to celebrate people and life and love and giving. Perfect!

And then there is my very favourite part.

The shopping!

Oh the thrill, the excitement of clamoring through the malls, facing the throngs, searching, shopping, finding the perfect present for that hard to shop for person, shopping...I love shopping...

I'm a bold-faced liar. How far did you get before you checked to see whose blog you were really on? Because those who know me know how much I hate it.

Malls (another blogger friend used to call them mauls) are my least favourite place on planet earth. Prison might be worse, but I've not been incarcerated(yet) so I'm going with malls.

I was invited to go cross border shopping in the US. Once the screaming subsided(mine) I declined. Sure, offer to torture me in two countries why not!

I have many reasons to hate shopping. First of all, bringing all the stuff into your house makes a mess. Second of all, as much as I love people, malls seem to bring out the worse in them and even when I go in with the sole intention of making other people happy by smiling and being friendly, I leave with a sense that I've wasted a great deal of time that I could have used doing something more pleasant, like porcupine sitting.

I did hire a cleaning lady...I hate cleaning and I've decided to not do things I hate. Is there such a thing as a shopping lady? I need a shopping lady...she could take pictures and bbm them to me and I could say yes or no from the comfort of my exercise ball-chair in my lovely writing space.

Sigh. The thing is..I love giving gifts...love thinking of and taking the time to put together the perfect items to make a person smile or remember or just enjoy the moment. So it's a great big dilemma always.

And I'm not crafty so the romance of making the perfect gift, while appealing, isn't possible. That would be the ideal of course, creating perfection and gifting it. No, my loved ones will not be the beneficiaries of special, one of a kind, hand made by Carolyn goodies. I have nothing of that sort to give.

So..it's off to the maul...er...mall I must go...toys, clothing, electronics, people, noise, more noise, consumerism, sneezing(I'm allergic to malls..seriously) and I shall enjoy. And I will wrap while drinking egg nog and rum and listening to Christmas carols.

There is no escaping it. It must be done. Santa needs my help and I'll have to go shopping. I will. Soon. There are many many many more shopping days to Christmas...and my calendar says I'm free on the 24th...yep..there..set a reminder and I'll go that day..if nothing comes up.